FreakNasty's Big East Preview Part One

FreakNasty · 08-17-2006, 01:13 AM

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Enjoy...

Pittsburgh
Head Coach: Dave Wannstedt (5-6 overall)

Last season: 5-6 (no bowl)

# of returning starters: 12 (6 offense, 6 defense)

Returning Leaders:
Passing: Tyler Palko (193-341, 2392 yards, 17 TD, 9 INT)

Rushing: LaRod Stephens-Howling (96 att, 462 yards)

Receiving: Derek Kinder (37 rec, 374 yards)

Tackles: HB Blades (121)

Sacks: Chris McKillop (3.5)

Interceptions: Darrelle Revis (4)

Schedule/Projected W-L Record
Sept. 2 Virginia W

Sept. 9 at Cincy W

Sept. 16 Michigan St. L

Sept. 23 The Citadel W

Sept. 30 Toledo W

Oct. 7 at Syracuse W

Oct. 13 at UCF W

Oct. 21 Rutgers W

Nov. 4 at USF W

Nov. 11 at UCONN W

Nov. 16 West Virginia W

Nov. 25 Louisville W

11-1 overall (7-0 conference)
5 âswingâ games

Analysis
Iâll take some heat for this, but I donât care. I think Pitt is going to win the Big East based on Wannstedt aloneâ¦..

Tyler Palko is a very solid QB, he just simply puts up numbers. Theyâll need to find a running game to be 11 win good, but I think they willâ¦

Notice the last two games on the schedule, the Big East will be decided in November, all three teams play each other that monthâ¦

Pitt was overhyped last year, but they are underrated this year, and they will surprise the football world winning the Big Eastâ¦.

Louisville
Head Coach: Bobby Petrino (29-8 overall)

Last season: 9-3 (lost to Virginia Tech 35-24 in Gator Bowl)

# of returning starters: 13 (6 offense, 7 defense)

Returning Leaders:
Passing: Brian Brohm (207-301, 2883 yards, 19 TD, 5 INT)

Rushing: Michael Bush (205 att, 1176 yards)

Receiving: Mario Urrutia (37 att, 797 yards)

Tackles: Nate Harris (66)

Sacks: Nate Harris (7)

Interceptions: Jon Russell (2)

Schedule/Projected W-L Record
Sept. 2 Kentucky W

Sept. 9 at Temple W

Sept. 16 Miami FL. L

Sept. 23 at Kansas St. W

Oct. 6 Mid. Tennessee St. W

Oct. 14 Cincy W

Oct. 21 at Syracuse W

Nov. 2 West Virginia W

Nov. 9 at Rutgers W

Nov. 18 South Florida W

Nov. 25 at Pittsburgh L

Dec. 2 UCONN W

10-2 overall (6-1 conference)
3 âswingâ games

Analysis
Louisville should be contenders to win the national championship. They have the trademark non-conference team (Miami), and they have a manageable conference scheduleâ¦. Until that date in late November against Pittsburghâ¦

Louisville will score a ton, but Iâm still not sold on their defenseâ¦.

Petrino has done a wonderful job here, Brohm and Bush both should be high draft selectionâ¦

Louisville has the potential to run the table, but I donât see them beating Pittsburgh or Miamiâ¦â¦

West Virginia
Head Coach: Rich Rodriguez (39-22 overall)

Last season: 11-1 (beat Georgia 38-35 in Sugar Bowl)

# of returning starters: 14 (9 offense, 5 defense)

Returning Leaders:
Passing: Pat White (65-114, 828 yards, 8 TD, 5 INT)

Rushing: Steve Slaton (205 att, 1204 yards)

Receiving: Brandon Myles (34 rec, 536 yards)

Tackles: Kevin Mclee (78)

Sacks: Kellen Dykes (5)

Interceptions: Eric Wicks (1)

Schedule/Projected W-L Record
Sept.2 Marshall W

Sept. 9 E. Washington W

Sept. 16 Maryland L

Sept. 23 at ECU W

Oct. 7 at Mississippi St. W

Oct. 14 Syracuse W

Oct. 20 at UCONN W

Nov. 2 at Louisville L

Nov. 11 Cincy W

Nov. 16 at Pittsburgh L

Nov. 25 South Florida W

Dec. 2 Rutgers W

9-3 overall (5-2 conference)
3 âswingâ games

Analysis
West Virginia was the surprise team of last season, bouncing back from a disappointing 2004 to win 11 games, the Big East, and the Sugar Bowlâ¦ Rich Rodriguez is a true offensive wizardâ¦

WVU was ranked in manyâs preseason top 10 before 2004, and ended up losing 4 games. I think they are being overrated this season as well, they are solid, but they were very fortunate to win the conference last season (see comeback win vs. Louisville)â¦.

Their two biggest conference games are on the road (Pitt and Louisville)â¦.

WVU could easily prove me wrong and go undefeated, but I donât think they are as good as Louisville or Pitt in all honesty. They are going to have to outscore opponents to winâ¦

Rutgers
Head Coach: Greg Schiano (19-39 overall)

Last season: 7-5 (lost to Arizona St. 45-40 in Insight Bowl)

# of returning starters: 14 (7 offense, 7 defense)

Returning Leaders:
Passing: Mike Teel (51-101, 683 yards, 2 TD, 10 INT)

Rushing: Raynell Rice (195 att, 1153 yards)

Receiving: Clark Harris (38 rec, 584 yards)

Tackles: Courtney Greene (116)

Sacks: Jamaal Westerman (4)

Interceptions: Ron Girault (3)

Schedule/Projected W-L Record
Sept.2 at North Carolina W

Sept. 9 Illinois L

Sept. 16 Ohio W

Sept. 23 Howard W

Sept. 29 at South Florida W

Oct. 14 at Navy L

Oct. 21 at Pittsburgh L

Oct. 28 UCONN W

Nov. 9 Louisville L

Nov. 18 at Cincy W

Nov. 25 Syracuse W

Dec. 2 at West Virginia L

7-5 overall (4-3 conference)
5 âswingâ games

Analysis
Rutgers has been one of the worst programs of the last fifty years. They have been to only two bowls since the mid 70âsâ¦

Rutgers was actually very solid last year, especially in the running game. With a QB that had problems with INTâs last season returning, theyâll need to run the ball a lot to winâ¦

Greg Schiano has nearly been fired three or four times, but they stayed with him, and he hasnât disappointed them in the last three years, giving them three of their best years in their historyâ¦

Rutgers will play defense and run the football, good enough to be the best team in the second tier of the Big Eastâ¦.

South Florida
Head Coach: Jim Leavitt (61-39 overall)

Last season: 6-6 (lost to N.C. State 14-0 in Tire Bowl)

# of returning starters: 13 (6 offense, 7 defense)

Returning Leaders:
Passing: Pat Julmiste (124-252, 1489 yards, 6 TD, 11 INT)

Rushing: Ricky Ponton (92 att, 383 yards)

Receiving: Jackie Chambers (21 rec, 290 yards)

Tackles: Ben Moffitt (96)

Sacks: Stephen Nicholas (7)

Interceptions: Carlton Williams (2)

Schedule/Projected W-L Record
Sept. 2 McNeese St. W

Sept. 9 Florida Intâl W

Sept. 16 at UCF L

Sept. 23 at Kansas L

Sept. 29 Rutgers L

Oct. 7 UCONN W

Oct. 14 at North Carolina L

Oct. 21 at Cincy W

Nov. 4 Pittsburgh L

Nov. 11 Syracuse W

Nov. 18 at Louisville L

Nov. 25 at West Virginia L

5-7 overall (3-4 conference)
5 âswingâ games

Analysis
Jim Leavitt has done a fantastic job as coach here.. He started the program a decade ago as a division IAA school, and in those years they have become a threat mainly due to Leavittâs ability to recruit in-stateâ¦

Losing Andre Hall to the NFL hurts their already poor offense even more. They were shutout in their bowl game last year, and had problems out of the QB position all year..

Carlton Hill will probably end up starting at QB this season, he was highly touted as an athlete coming out of High School and they need all the playmakers they can get on offenseâ¦

USF was both fortunate and good last season, but theyâll fall just short this seasonâ¦

UCONN
Head Coach: Randy Edsall (37-43 overall)

Last season: 5-6 (no bowl)

# of returning starters: 14 (7 offense, 7 defense)

Returning Leaders:
Passing: Matt Bonislawski (82-162, 836 yards, 6 TD, 7 INT)

Rushing: Terry Caulley (141 att, 710 yards)

Receiving: Brandon Young (28 rec, 371 yards)

Tackles: Danny Lansanah (80)

Sacks: Dan Davis (3)

Interceptions: Darius Butler (4)

Schedule/Projected W-L Record
Aug. 31 Rhode Island W

Sept. 16 Wake Forest W

Sept. 23 at Indiana W

Sept. 30 Navy L

Oct. 7 at South Florida L

Oct. 14 Army W

Oct. 20 West Virginia L

Oct. 28 at Rutgers L

Nov. 11 Pittsburgh L

Nov. 18 at Syracuse W

Nov. 25 Cincy W

Dec. 2 at Louisville L

6-6 overall (2-5 conference)
5 âswingâ games

Analysis
UCONN has slowly built a pretty decent program. You can make a case that itâs now the strongest in the northeastâ¦

Edsall has done a wonderful job building the team from D1-AA, much like Leavitt has done at USF.. The Huskies and Bulls are a lot alike in how they have built their program..

Finding a consistant passing game will determine how successful UCONN is this season, I look for DJ Hernandez to win the jobâ¦.

UCONN will be set in the 5-7 win range, and to reach maximum potential theyâll need the speedy RB Terry Cauley to stay healthy. I think theyâll contend for a bowlâ¦.

BIG JOHN · 09-03-2006, 05:46 PM

I think your nuts!!! The WVU/Louisville winner will go to a BCS game, with the only outside surprise being South Florida who I think is underrated.

BIG JOHN · 09-03-2006, 05:48 PM

Pitt will be lucky to go 5-5 espeaically if Palko stays healthy.

FreakNasty · 09-04-2006, 01:09 AM

BIG JOHN Wrote:Pitt will be lucky to go 5-5 espeaically if Palko stays healthy.

Kinda hard to do when they play 12 games...

BIG JOHN · 09-09-2006, 12:33 AM

excuse me. Still thinkin high school. 6-6. Bottom line, lucky to go .500.
Mountaineers Big East Champs.

FreakNasty · 09-09-2006, 12:39 AM

BIG JOHN Wrote:excuse me. Still thinkin high school. 6-6. Bottom line, lucky to go .500.
Mountaineers Big East Champs.

It's all good bro...

I'm probably the only person on earth picking Pitt, but they are 2-0 right now...

They get Louisvill eand WVU at home, whcih will be huge at the end of the year, well see, Louisville and WVU are very very good footbal teams...

corndog23 · 09-09-2006, 02:10 AM

yeh freak i dont know about beatin WVU and UL back to back. I wasnt too impressed with pittsburgh tonight. i think they finish third in this race.

~~Old school Dawg~~ · 09-12-2006, 07:29 PM

Freaknasty you did a good job on your post but man my Mountaineers are tough.I went to the MU and WVU game and Slaton and company have not missed a beat.The Maryland game is a concern for me because they have been a thorn in the flesh for the EER,s the last 5 years.In my 46 years of living this team has as a good a chance as any WV team to win a national title.If we beat Maryland Louisville and Miami,,,we will get a shot.Of course that is overlooking the other teams they play and no win is automatic.Rutgers is very improved too.

FreakNasty · 09-12-2006, 10:06 PM

Old school Dawg Wrote:Freaknasty you did a good job on your post but man my Mountaineers are tough.I went to the MU and WVU game and Slaton and company have not missed a beat.The Maryland game is a concern for me because they have been a thorn in the flesh for the EER,s the last 5 years.In my 46 years of living this team has as a good a chance as any WV team to win a national title.If we beat Maryland Louisville and Miami,,,we will get a shot.Of course that is overlooking the other teams they play and no win is automatic.Rutgers is very improved too.

The Big East is very good this year IMO, Maryland shouldn't be a 17 point dog Thursday Night (I have them beating WVU preseason), but it's at WVU, a huge advantage...

~~Old school Dawg~~ · 09-13-2006, 07:00 AM

Big East is under rated,,dont you agree Freak?

corndog23 · 09-13-2006, 11:03 AM

Old school Dawg Wrote:Big East is under rated,,dont you agree Freak?

no....they are not underrated. they are about where they need to be. Two quality teams are in the top 25, and thats about all they have, two quality teams.

FreakNasty · 09-13-2006, 11:14 AM

corndog23 Wrote:no....they are not underrated. they are about where they need to be. Two quality teams are in the top 25, and thats about all they have, two quality teams.

3... maybe 4...

Big East football reminds me alot of SEC/Pac 10 basketball, two or three really good teams, a couple decent teams, and a couple really awful teams....

corndog23 · 09-13-2006, 11:20 AM

i might give pittsburgh a nod....MAYBE, even though i wasnt too impressed with the game i watched them play. But other then those 3, no other school IMO is a quality enough team to beat a ranked team.

FreakNasty · 09-13-2006, 04:20 PM

corndog23 Wrote:i might give pittsburgh a nod....MAYBE, even though i wasnt too impressed with the game i watched them play. But other then those 3, no other school IMO is a quality enough team to beat a ranked team.

Syracuse, the worst team in the Big East, took Iowa to 2OT's...

Iowa was without Tate, but still, the Big East is much improved over last year...

TennisCAT23 · 09-19-2006, 05:50 PM

Freak you predicted the Mich St. victory this weekend but as for Pitt winning out especially the final two games doesnt look too promising

FreakNasty · 09-19-2006, 10:10 PM

TennisCAT23 Wrote:Freak you predicted the Mich St. victory this weekend but as for Pitt winning out especially the final two games doesnt look too promising

We'll see, I'm not afarid to step out on a limb occasionally... Smile

BIG JOHN · 09-23-2006, 04:28 PM

As bad as some people think The Big East is, The ACC is looking like a dead dog about now. So much for the pilgramage of Miami, VT, and Boston College.

FreakNasty · 09-24-2006, 02:42 AM

BIG JOHN Wrote:As bad as some people think The Big East is, The ACC is looking like a dead dog about now. So much for the pilgramage of Miami, VT, and Boston College.

People who say the Big East is bad this year dont watch the game, 2 legit top 10 teams, and two more teams that could win 8 or 9 games... possibly 10....

corndog23 · 09-24-2006, 11:21 AM

FreakNasty Wrote:People who say the Big East is bad this year dont watch the game, 2 legit top 10 teams, and two more teams that could win 8 or 9 games... possibly 10....

thats just because they have to play eachother freak...

FreakNasty · 09-24-2006, 01:58 PM

corndog23 Wrote:thats just because they have to play eachother freak...

It's a good conference, not as good as the SEC or Big Ten, but it's good...